Medellín, Colombia

Howdy to all my dear readers, how are we today? I have been putting off this entry now because I thought it would take a long time to write. Then I realized I will have an even longer entry later that I just have to do it. And also because I told El had a bday and I am going to write another one with the power of El’s birthday to compEl me.

When we first arrived, we did laundry and took glorious showers in our Airbnb. Then we wandered, well, Mer and Kate wandered while I was on my virtual Global Shapers monthly meeting. After that, I was able to meet up with them. We had mini tacos.quesadillas. Mini in this case was true, they were so small that I was still hungry after eating them. However, they were 2 for 16K so not too shabby. Tasty nonetheless. I got one birria and one lengua, the latter being the taco of the day. The place was called El Alter, if I am remembering correctly.

Mer and I both got Bali vibes from Medellín so far. Not from the air, but the little street that we lived on. That first night I mentioned being excited to see what the city had in store for us. 🙂

The next morning, we went to breakfast at Hijamia. One thing to note about Medellín (the area we are in) is it’s very touristy and modern so our meals here are not comida tipica. This breakfast place was a hip brunch spot and oh was it good. Kate and I split a ricotta pancake and avocado toast. Sounds simple but they were both packed with flavor: cremas, fruit, syrup, hummus, tomatoes, feta, etc. Very large portions too. We were all feuled up and ready to walk and learn, a lot. That afternoon we did a tour of La Comuna Trece. This was what everyone we had met so far on this trip had told us to do, must do, and everyone was right. Alex, our tourguide, was so perfect. He knew everyone in the neighborhood, could rap, knows Spanish, English, Japanese, and Russian, and is learning Portuguese and French. He’s a DJ and co-owns a bar with the best view of Medellín from Comuna 13. He took us to see breakdancers that put the ones in Cartagena (no hate) to shame, to see all the amazing graffiti, to try free empanadas and snacks, see two tiny kittens, see rappers and art, to get drinks, and to learn so much along the way.

TW: Death and War. He’s 23 and from that neighborhood. He saw everything that happened. He showed us spots that used to be bad historical points for the neighborhood. He told us about the guerrilleros y paramilitarios, 2002, and the coca cola truck incident. He told us how he had to step over dead bodies as a little kid. How there was a political war and cultural war, and all the terrible things that happened in our lifetime. Yet, the neighborhood is now self governed and is the safest neighborhood in Medellín. They have undergone an amazing transformation. in such a short amount of time. I think it was about 15 years.

We saw the transformation first hand. It’s visible in the people, the art, and the overall vibe. We saw so many amazing graffitti murals and I wrote some notes on them. Mainly they were about equality, transformations/rebirth, freedom, and nature. Colombia is the second happiest and second most bio-diverse country in the world. It was felt every step of the way. This tour is so much more than I shared, but you will have to go for yourself to truly understand. Trust me.

As always, we made friends and when the tour finished we walked with Shannon, Becky, Julia, and Miranda to the San Javier Metro. We got passes and took the cable car up to view the city. It felt like I was looking over Velaris at night. It was SO windy though and it felt like we could fall off the cable. It was also storming nearby so we hoped we wouldn’t get stuck at the top and have to wait it out. Or get zapped. Neither fear came true. Hooray! We parted ways with them because we wanted to take the metro home and they were going to get a taxi. The ride home was so easy, nice, clear, and efficient. We did have about a 15 minute walk to our apartment from our metro stop, but it was no biggie. For dinner we actually met back up with Julia and Becky at an italian place near our house, Tirrena Pasta. It was tasty. You pick a noodle or ravioli and then pick a sauce. I chose Parpadelle with ragú. I know, shocking I didn’t get ravioli. The meal came with bread and a side kale salad. I was satisfied. Then we strolled home.

What a wonderful and thought provoking day.

The next day, Haikyuu day eve if you will, we went to Guatapé. I will do a short post about it after I post this one. And I wrote that down so I can’t not do it. 😉

Our last full day in Medellín was relaxing. We got a damn good shakshuka from Cambria, a one minute walk from our place, and then checked out an art gallery one block over from that. After that we walked over to Sailors and Mermaids and we all got tattoos! We are all in love with the ones we got, as well as each others. The artists, Diego and Jay, popped tf off. Plus the price was amazing. I will be back for more. We got some beers after to celebrate, but other than that we chilled for the day. Up until we met Justin and Mirium for dinner.

We met up with them at a place called Restaurante Autentico which I thought was very tasty. Everyone got something different, which I know happens all the time, but it felt note worthy. Rice, meats with assorted sauces, random veggie combos, etc. Mer and I began trying to convince Kate to continue travelling with us. Planting seeds, laying groundwork, you know. We also made loose plans to explore Arequipa with Mirium and Justin!

The last day was a travel day, nothing all that exciting happened. We just travelled a shit ton and I was tired. Medellín –> Bogotá –> Lima –> Cusco. Lots of speed walking and slugging bags up and down and to and frow. Lots of reading, I was about to finish the fourth book in my series (the prequel actually, to learn who some key players are later). We did go to a lounge in Medellin. Super nice. We also went to one briefly in Bogotá but it was not great. One thing to note is people are wild at the airports down here. Rushing, pushing and shoving, all to get to our assigned seats. Literally reaching up to get your bag out of the overhead bin can cause three people to shove you out of the way. It’s not that serious people.

That’s all she (I) wrote for Medellín, as well as Colombia. Hard to believe that portion of the trip is over. I had such an amazing time in Colombia, and cannot wait to go back.

❤